Rewriting the Colonial Romance: Global Intimacies between Women

Afterlives of colonialism: Nostalgia, reader’s response and the case of Noel Barber’s Tanamera

“…In Tanamera, such forms of masculinity are celebrated in the figures of the Dexter men -from Grandpa Jack to his son, and eventually his grandson, John Dexter. Simultaneous depictions of colonial subjects as exotic and alluring, and also primitive and threatening express the anxieties as well as the fantasies of the Western reading public about the orient (McClintock, 1995;Chrisman, 2000;Davis, 2013).…”

“…In a colonial romance, the colony is not only a backdrop to the tale of adventure; it is integral to the plot and romance is deployed as a means to explore inter-racial interactions, the boundaries of colonial society, and the spaces for transgression and subversion. Thus, the narrative mounts a critique of the colonial enterprise, and at the same time, decries the emergence of postcolonial nationalism (Davis, 2013). The inter-racial romanc that lies at the heart of the narrative foregrounds the racial boundaries under the guise of a liberal attitude.…”

Performing Distinction in Big Banana: Culture at the Margins of Visibility

“…Although I would not describe Big Banana as a romance, it is useful to look at studies of romance as a genre given the importance that Eduardo's affair with Andrea has to the story and to my analysis. The literary merit of romance has been contested by critics for a long time, but scholars like Janice A. Radway, Emily S. Davis, and Doris Sommer-cited above-have productively studied the genre, rather than dismissing it, and found some poignant critiques and concerns that are relevant to discussions of gender and patriarchy; global culture, economic and political shifts; and, the problems of the nation and nation-building, respectively(Davis 2013;Radway 1991).…”